Compact Disc Holder

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for packaging a Compact Disc ( 21 ), formed from a plurality of panels ( 5, 6, 7 ) of paper, card, plastic or the like, comprising a tray formed from a section ( 9, 16 ) cut out from one or more of said panels ( 5, 6 ), rotatable about an axle ( 14 ) located near an outer edge of the tray, from a closed position in which a recess ( 8 ) for holding a disc is closed by said one or more panels or by another of the panels ( 7 ), to an open position allowing access to the disc. Alternative embodiments include further recesses and are arranged to hold more than one disc.

The present invention relates to packaging for a range of goods,including Compact Discs, confectionery, cosmetics and a range of itemsand products from a wide spectrum of commerce. However, for the purposesof precision, coherence and brevity this description centres on theinvention's application to the Compact Disc.

Companies are constantly seeking to encourage people to purchase theirgoods, and to encourage existing customers to purchase more. They arealso constantly looking for interesting ways of presenting both theirproducts and the imagery related to them. Furthermore, companies areconstantly looking for new ways to promote these products, and thereforethere is a constant demand for the kind of packaging which will not onlyprotect, but enhance and promote the products by providing an impressionof quality and value. The packaging is the first thing a customer sees,so it needs to be both attractive and functional. The combination ofquality with low-cost is almost always part of the requirement for thepackaging of most goods. In the case of a Compact Disc, the packagingwould have to offer protection for the product, simplicity of operation,and provide a means of storing or filing the product in an attractiveand convenient way in the office or home, and be robust enough towithstand constant handling over a period of time.

The present invention provides apparatus for packaging a Compact Discaccording to claim 1. Optional features of the invention are set out inthe dependent claims.

In the present embodiments, the apparatus comes in a number of differentconfigurations, three of which are based on one basic mechanism and afourth which takes a different format. As many Compact Disc-holders aremade of plastic which requires moulding and other complex industrialprocesses, the requirement for something simpler called for a designwhich could be applied to paper or card, which would require only to beprinted, die-cut and glued, while offering a similar protection andimpression of quality as a plastic holder.

In the FIRST configuration, using three of more layers of card, a packmay be made whereby the user partially pulls out a cut-out section fromone of the panels, in which is located a recess in which a DVD or CD isheld. This ‘carrier’ section may be cut from an interior panel, which is‘sandwiched’ between two or more outer panels of a similar size. Bycutting out a circular section from near the base of the carriersection, and by gluing it flat to the adjacent panels on either side, an‘axle’ is formed around which the moving or carrier section, may rotate.The whole panel is glued on three sides, while the un-glued carriersection is cut out from the rest of the panel. From out of the carriersection may be cut out a circular aperture corresponding in size to aCD.

In all configurations, this aperture forms the surround of a recesswhich can hold a CD. The carrier section may have its leading edgeparallel to, and corresponding to the edge of the other panels, and it'strailing edge, which separates it from the panel from which it is cut,defined by a series of semi-circular cuts radiating from a common centrewhich allow the moving carrier section to rotate easily and smoothlyoutwards along those cuts. The first may be a cut which follows thecircumference of the disc aperture at such a distance as to create anouter ‘ring’ which forms the outer edge of the strip which forms therecess which holds the CD, and which also forms the trailing edge of themovable carrier section. At the base, this circular cut joins anothersmaller circular cut, extending down to the base of the panel, whichtakes its radius from the centre of the axle-disc, which it surrounds,and around which the carrier section rotates. The upper edge of thecarrier section is formed by a transversal cut extending as an arc,again taking its radius from the centre-point of the ‘axle’ disc,extending tangentially from the top of the outer, circular cut on thetrailing edge of the carrier section all the way across to the leadingedge. The carrier section is then totally separated from the rest of thepanel from which it has been cut, and is held only by the ‘axle’ discwhich is glued on both surfaces to its adjacent panels. In two of theconfigurations, a base for the recess holding the CD is formed when thecarrier section is glued flat against a section cut out from the backouter panel. This outer section mainly follows the same cuts as thecarrier panel to which it is glued, except at the bottom a smaller archas been cut, again radiating from the centre of the ‘axle-disc’, andwhich the circular cut on the trailing edge meets at almost 90 degrees.The outer section, therefore, forms the same section of a circle movingalong the same ‘arc’ or circumference as the carrier section to which itis glued, the arcs taking their differing radii from the same point,i.e., the centre of the ‘axle-disc’. This outer section which forms, onthe inside, the interior base of the CD recess within the carriersection is completely separated from the rest of the outer panel fromwhich it is cut, by having both top and bottom arcs joined by anothercut, this time following a line determining the trailing edge of thecarrier section, i.e., just outside of the circumference of the CDrecess.

In order to prevent the movable sections from coming out too far, therehas been incorporated a number of small features, which both anchor themechanism, and streamline the movement. The first is the creation of twosmall ‘spurs’ located at either end of the top transversal arc on thecarrier section, achieved by clearing a strip from the carrier section,following and immediately above the line of the arc on the panel fromwhich the carrier section is cut, but leaving a small spur at eitherend, the one at the leading edge remaining attached to the upper edge ofthe fixed remainder of the panel from which the carrier section has beencut out, which points downwards and remains fixed, while the other islocated at the top of the far, or trailing edge of the carrier section,so that when the carrier section has reached the end of the arc whenpulled outwards, the spur on the far end meets the spur at the front, oropen edge of the apparatus, stopping the carrier section from movingoutwards any further, exposing enough of the CD recess in the carriersection to remove or replace the CD. Additionally, the top-arc of thecarrier section may also extend partially upwards, beyond the top edgeof the outer movable section, creating a ‘vane’ which extends below thesurface of the top part of the outer main panel, operating like a rail,keeping the carrier section and it's outer section to which it is gluedfrom opening out and damaging the mechanism.As the user therefore grips and pulls outwards the carrier sectionthrough an access aperture on the front surface, and grips the movableback surface, the carrier section and the cut out back section, moveeasily outwards, as one unit, rotating around the axle-disc, by about 50degrees, and is stopped by the ‘spurs’ as described earlier, exposingthe CD recess on the top surface of the carrier section. The outer edgeof the CD recess has a cut-out ‘finger-access’ of a size enough for afinger to grip and remove or insert a CD.

The SECOND embodiment on this theme has an extra panel between the frontpanel and the carrier section, where a second recess, which can containanother CD is located. This recess may take a slightly differentposition within the apparatus, e.g., being ‘offset’ by being placed ashort distance from the existing recess in the carrier section, so as toavoid either disc falling into the neighbouring recess and ‘locking’ theapparatus. The apparatus may be constructed from material thick enoughsuch that a CD will sit within the recess, with it's surface level withthe plane of the section within which it is seated. Additionally, usinga thicker material would allow more CD's to be seated within therecesses.

The THIRD embodiment also has an additional panel with another carriersection, this time almost a mirror image of the previously describedcarrier section, which is glued face-to-face with it's opposite, andwhich does not attach to an outer section, but which functions as asingle moving unit between two flat outer panels. The CD recesses areoffset against each other by a short distance, providing a lip' ateither edge against which the CD sits, and is thus prevented fromslipping into the neighbouring recess. This embodiment operates in thesame way as the previous two, except that there are two ‘axle’ discs atthe base, which are glued together and glued to the outer panels, andremain fixed within the apparatus. The combined carrier sections pullout by means of being gripped by the user through two finger-sizedaccesses cut out from both outside edges of the outer panels, and isstopped in the same way as the previous two embodiments, i.e., when a‘spur’ on the trailing edge of the carrier panel meets a spur projectingdown from the remaining part of the panel from which it is cut, at theleading edge.

The FOURTH embodiment is different insofar as it retains the disc withinthe body of the apparatus, and uses a ‘slide-open’ mechanism as opposedto the ‘rotating’ feature previously described. In this version whichmay again be formed from a single piece of material, the panelsandwiched between two or more outer panels may contain the recess inwhich the CD is held, and may be divided horizontally, such that anupper and lower section is formed, the upper section having half of therecess divided horizontally through the mid-point by two cuts on eitherside of the CD recess, extending about halfway to the edge of the panelbefore each meets a vertical cut running down all the way to the bottomof the panel, creating a separate section which is free to move up anddown within that part of the panel which is glued to the base and toppanels at the top and down the sides. In order that the lower panel maystop and some point, the vertical cuts separating the moving from thefixed parts, the vertical lines may at a point just lower than halfwaydown may be positioned a short distance inwards, and a small sectioncleared just above where the cuts indent, to set a lower limit on thedownward movement of the lower section of the panel, when theprojections on both sides of the ‘T’ section—which has been formed bymoving the lower cuts inwards and clearing the material above—meets the‘shoulders’ formed by the same. Also, at the point where the lowermoving section stops on it's downward track, a horizontal transversalfold is made near the bottom and at the point where the inner slidingsection stops at the bottom edge of the back panel. The front panel isglued at the top and sides to the stationery parts of the middle panel,and from it is cut out the cover, or access section which may follow atthe top end, the line of the CD recess, either directly on top orslightly out from it, while extending down the sides from the ends ofthe downward-pointing crescent, are two vertical cuts going all the waydon to the bottom and set slightly further in from, and thereforeconcealing the cuts below, on the middle panel so that the slidingsection within is now confined within the body of the apparatus. Thiscentral section on the top surface, then, is glued to the moving sectionimmediately below it, along the horizontal surface below the horizontalfold-line on the moving section, so that when the assembly is pulleddownwards from the bottom, the fold line reaches the edge of the basepanel and may then be pushed downwards at its bottom edge, raising thecut-out cover panel and allowing access to the recess in which a CD maybe accessed or placed.

A variant of this may be formed by having the entire CD recess setwithin the sliding section, as opposed to the division of the slidingsection as described previously. In such a case, a finger-accessallowing the disc to be lifted out would be incorporated into thecircumference of the CD recess. In all configurations, the layouts havebeen configured so that glue may be applied to one side only

A variant on the first three embodiments, concerns the axle or ‘fulcrum’around which the carrier panel rotates on it's outward/inward movement,whereby the axle may be created as an extension of the carrier panel,and which rotates within the slot from which it is cut out from thesurrounding panel. In a further variant, the axle may be dispensed withaltogether, the carrier panel rotating on a pivot point which acts as afulcrum positioned into a ‘V’-cut, cut out from the same panel, but fromwhich material has been cleared to allow the carrier panel to rotatearound the pivot point. In both these cases the outward course of thecarrier panel is stopped, as in embodiments one, two and three, by thecollision of the spur located at the top of the trailing edge of carrierpanel with the downward-pointing spur located at the outside upper edgeof the panel from which the carrier panel is cut.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way ofexample with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows the FIRST configuration of the apparatus prior to folding,showing the three panels left-to-right: the interior panel with CDcarrier section and ‘axle’ disc cut out from it, the outer surface ofthe back panel showing the cut out moving section which forms the bottomof the CD-recess, moves with the carrier, the outer surface of the frontpanel.

FIG. 2 shows the obverse, or glue-side.

FIG. 3 shows the front surfaces of the back and front panels, thecarrier section now folded into the inner surface of the back panel.

FIG. 4 shows the obverse.

FIG. 5 shows the finished apparatus front surface with finger-access andtrims removed.

FIG. 6 shows the back of the finished apparatus, with the moving panelin the closed position.

FIG. 7 shows the finished apparatus from the front in the ‘open’position with a CD in-situ.

FIG. 8 shows the obverse with the back section also in the openposition.

FIG. 9 is a cut-away drawing showing the interior with the carriersection in the open position.

FIG. 10 shows the SECOND configuration of the apparatus prior tofolding, showing the four panels, clock-wise from top left: the frontsurface of the back panel, the front panel, the carrier section with CDrecess and axle-disc, and the fourth panel with the other CD-recess.

FIG. 11 shows the obverse, or glue-side.

FIG. 12 shows the first fold, the carrier section being folded behindthe second CD recess panel.

FIG. 13 shows the same from the obverse.

FIG. 14 shows the second fold with second CD recess panel, with thecarrier section folded over it, being folded over the front panel.

FIG. 15 shows the obverse.

FIG. 16 shows the front of the finished apparatus with trims cut.

FIG. 17 shows the obverse.

FIG. 18 shows the front of the apparatus, the carrier in the openposition with a CD in situ.

FIG. 19 shows the obverse with another CD in the inner recess.

FIG. 20 is a cut-away drawing showing the mechanism in the openposition.

FIG. 21 shows the third configuration from the glue-side.

FIG. 22 shows the carrier panels being folded on top of one another,with the CD-recesses staggered.

FIG. 23 shows the carrier sections folded over the back panel.

FIG. 24 shows the back view of the finished apparatus with trims off.

FIG. 25 shows the front.

FIG. 26 shows a front view of the apparatus in the open position, with aCD in the front recess.

FIG. 27 shows an obverse view with a CD in situ in the back recess, andthe CD from the front recess halfway out.

FIG. 28 shows a back view of the apparatus with the other CD in situ.

FIG. 29 shows the FOURTH configuration the three panels left to right:the cover panel, the back panel and the interior panel showing the CDrecess and the sliding section.

FIG. 30 shows the interior panel folded inwards on top of the backpanel.

FIG. 31 shows the front of the complete apparatus prior to trimming, andshowing the sliding cover panel in the closed position.

FIGS. 32-34 show the apparatus after trim, with a partial cut-awayshowing the interior sliding section (in dotted line) and how themechanism works, as follows:

FIG. 32 shows the apparatus in the closed position.

FIG. 33 shows the top cover panel being slid down to its full extent,i.e., when the shoulders meet the stops inside and when the bottom foldon the inner slide meets the bottom edge of the apparatus.

FIG. 34 shows the top cover panel being folded down at the base, causingit to ‘cantilever’ upwards to reveal the CD inside.

FIGS. 35-37 are schematic drawings showing the same operation.

FIGS. 38-41 show alternate methods of creating an axle or fulcrum, withregard to the embodiments in FIGS. 1-28.

N.B. It should be noted that whilst the drawings show packages formedfrom a single piece and folded together, in practice the apparatus isformed from separate panels.

According to FIGS. 1 & 2, the FIRST embodiment of the apparatus 1consists of three panels, 5, 6, 7 separated by folds A-A & B-B,configured so that glue may be applied to one side, and that they may befolded according to FIGS. 3, 4, 5 & 6 along folds A-A & B-B so as toform the complete apparatus 1. In FIG. 1 therefore, from the panel 5, ofthe apparatus 1, has been cut out another complete section 9 (the‘carrier section’) separated from the panel 5 by a series of arced cuts,12, 13, 15. From panel 9 two circular sections 8, 14 have been cut. Thelarger circle 8, which may be at or near the centre of the panel 9, isthe same size as a CD, and the section cut out is removed, while theother circle 14, the ‘axle-disc’ is smaller and remains in situ, and maybe left connected by a series of small nicks until broken by the user.The back panel 6, of the apparatus 1 has cut out from it a curvingsection 16, where the top cut X-Y, and the bottom cut N-Z, are sectionsof the radii of circles with their centre located at the centre M1 whichcorresponds with the centre P1 of the axle-disc 14 which when theapparatus 1 is complete, will lie directly above the centre P1 of theaxle-disc 14 below. At one side these cuts X-Y, N-Z extend all the wayto the outer edge of the apparatus 1. The two cuts X-Y & N-Z, are joinedon the inner or trailing edge by another cut Y-Z, also the section of acircle, but with it's radius centred at M2, which will lie directlyabove the centre of the CD recess aperture P2. The section 16 is nowseparated from the panel 6 from which it was cut, but may be held insitu during manufacture by a series of small nicks which break whenpulled by the user. The front panel 7 is featureless apart from a smallfinger-access indent 18 cut into the outer edge of the apparatus 1.

The apparatus 1 is glued at a number of points on the obverse side(FIGS. 3 & 4) and panel 5 containing the carrier section 9, is foldedalong line A-A over the back panel 6. The outer edges of the panel 5,not including the carrier section 9, but including the axle-disc 14, areglued to the back panel 6. The carrier section 9 is glued to the movablesection 16 cut out from the back panel 6. At their trailing edges,defined by a narrow cleared ‘gutter’ 12, and a circular cut 13 on thecarrier section and by cuts X-Y and Y-Z on the outer section 16, bothsections 9, 16 will concur, except for a number of small features. Theedge X-Y at the top of the movable back panel 16 may meet the gutter 12on the carrier section 9 at a slightly lower position, leaving a smallextension of a few millimetres along the length of, and just below thegutter 12 which will continue upwards below the top of the panel 6,acting as a guiding vane, or rail, and preventing the sections 9, 16from popping outwards from the body of the apparatus 1. The otherfeature involves the creation of two small ‘spurs’ 10, 11 at either endof the gutter 12, and which are the same depth as the gutter, designedto stop the trajectory of the carrier section 9 at the end of itsoutward journey. The front spur 10 is located at the end of the gutter12 and is attached to and points downwards from the outer part of thepanel 6. This spur 10 is fixed to the body of the apparatus 1 and doesnot move. The second spur 11 is located at the top of the trailing edge13, and at the inner end of the gutter 12 of the carrier section. Thespur 11 extends fully into the gutter 12 and below the top of the outerback panel 6, and when the carrier section 9 and the movable section 16is fully extended. (FIG. 9) The gluing together of the carrier section 9and the movable section 16 creates a ‘bottom’ for the circular recess 8which will contain a CD. The circular recess 8 also has a smallsemi-circular finger-access 17 cut into the area outside of the recess 8at the leading edge, to facilitate the lifting out of the CD.In FIGS. 5 & 6 the front panel 7 is folded inwards over panel 5, 9 alongfold line B-B, and glued to the outside parts of the panel 5, and to theother side of the axle-disc 14, where said axle-disc 14 will remainstationery and immovable between the back panel, 5, and the front panel7. The conjoined carrier section 9 and the moving back section 16 arenow configured to rotate as one unit around the axle-disc 14. FIGS. 5 &6 show the finished apparatus 1 front and back with trims 20 off.FIG. 7 shows the apparatus 1 fully extended in the open position fromthe front, showing the finger access 17 and the CD 21 in situ. FIG. 8 isthe back view of the same operation. FIG. 9 is a partially cut-awaydrawing showing how the carrier section 9, with the movable back section16 to which it is attached, rotates around the axle-disc 14 and isstopped by the collision of the interior spur 11 with the front fixedspur 10.

FIG. 10 shows the SECOND configuration of the apparatus 2 where a fourthpanel 22 has been added to include an additional CD recess 23 with afinger access 24 incorporated in its circumference. In FIG. 10 thepanels 6, 7, 5, 22 are clockwise from top left: the back panel 6incorporating a movable section 16, the front panel 7, the inside panel5, with cut out from it the carrier section 9, incorporating the CDrecess 8, and the axle-disc 14, and the additional panel 22incorporating another CD recess 23. FIG. 11 shows the obverse orglue-side of the apparatus 2. This configuration, according to FIG. 11has been laid out in a quadrant format separated by fold lines C-C, D-Dand by a cut E-E to fold as follows: In FIGS. 12 & 13 the panel 5including the carrier section 9 is folded across panel 22 along thelower section of fold line C-C, where it can be seen that the CD recess8 on the carrier section 9 occupies a slightly different or staggeredposition from the second recess aperture 23 on panel 22. Therelationship of the CD recesses 8, 23 with each other has been indicatedby a dotted line in FIGS. 12 & 13 showing the position of the CDrecesses 8, 23 in relation to one another below. The axle-disc 14 isalso glued to the additional CD recess panel 22.

In FIGS. 14 & 15, the additional CD recess panel 22, now with thecarrier panel 5, 9 folded over it and glued to it has been foldedupwards along fold line D-D, so that the panel 5 with the carrier panel9 cut out from it lies directly over the back panel 6, with the panel 22directly on top of the panel 5 with the carrier section 9. From here,the way the panel 9 meets with the back panel 6 and the way themechanism operates has been described in full in the description of theFIRST embodiment as referenced in FIGS. 1-9. However, instead of beingglued between the front and back panels as in the apparatus 1, the wholeof panel 5, 9 and the axle-disc 14 in this configuration 2 is now gluedbetween the additional CD recess panel 22, and the back panel 6,completely anchoring it to be stationery within the apparatus 2. Thefinal folding along the upper part of fold line C-C of the back panel 6,now with the panel 5, 9 glued on top of it, and with the additionalCD-recess panel 22 on top of that, completes the basic assembly of thisembodiment Of the apparatus 2 by the top panel 7 being glued to theadditional CD recess panel 22 with the front panel 7 now forming on it'sinterior surface, a bottom within the second CD recess 23. Afinger-access 18 is cut into the top panel's 7 outside edge.In FIG. 16, the front view, with trims 20 taken off and the obverse, inFIG. 17 show the completed apparatus 2. FIG. 18 shows the apparatus 2from the front in the fully open position with a CD 26 in situ. FIG. 19shows the other side of the same with the movable panel 16 rotatedoutwards and with the other, second CD 27 also in situ. FIG. 20 is apartial cut-away drawing showing the basic mechanism in operation.

FIGS. 21-28 show the THIRD configuration of the apparatus 3 whichalthough employing the same basic mechanism as the first two, differs ina number of ways, and in particular by the obviation of the movablesection 16 from the outside panel 6 of the apparatus 1 and 2, and theprovision of another CD carrier section 35 cut out from within anadditional fourth panel 22, as a matching mirror-image, except havingthe CD recesses 8, 32 slightly offset from one another, and containedwithin the body of the apparatus 3.

According to FIG. 21 therefore, the apparatus 3 has been configured in aquadrant format separated by fold lines C-C, D-D and by a cut E-E. Theseare, clockwise from top left as follows: The front panel 6, the backpanel 7, the back interior panel 22 incorporating the carrier section35, with axle-disc 33, the front interior panel 5 incorporating thecarrier section 9, with axle-disc 14.In FIG. 22 the interior panel 5 incorporating the carrier section 9 is aduplicate of the same panel from both two previous configurations,apparatus 1 & 2. Panel 5, 9 is folded along the lower part of fold-lineC-C and the outer part of the panel 5 is glued along three sides to thecorresponding parts of the panel 22 beneath. The axle-panel 14 is gluedto axle-panel 33 immediately below, and the carrier section 9 is gluedto the carrier section 35 below. The edges of those carrier sections 35,9 will concur so that to all intents and purposes the conjoined element35, 9 will function as one member within the body of the apparatus 3. Asindicated in FIG. 22 the respective CD apertures 8, 32 are offsetslightly against one another, forming a lip' in both recesses,preventing either CD slipping into the neighbouring recess. A fingeraccess has not been indicated in either carrier section, as the CD's maybe removed by pressure from either side although it would be an option.Additionally a membrane, made from either paper or plastic film of onekind or another may also be incorporated between the two carriersections, but has not been indicated in the drawings. In FIG. 23 theconjoined panels 22, 5 with their respective cut outs, carrier panels35, 9 and axle-discs 33, 14 are folded upwards along folded line E-E tobe glued to the back panel 7 where the outside edges of panel 5 will beglued along three sides, excluding those parts contained within thecarrier panel 9, except the axle-disc 14, which will also be glued tothe inner surface of back panel 7. FIG. 23 shows the stage just beforethe two panels 5, 22 and the back panel 7 are folded along the uppersection of fold line C-C onto the front panel 6, where the outersections of the panel 22 are glued on three sides, excluding all withinthe carrier section 35. The axle-disc 33 is glued to the front panel 6,and since this axle-disc 33 is also glued to it's correspondingaxle-disc 14, which in turn is glued to the back panel 7, bothaxle-discs 33, 14 remain fixed and stationery between the front panel 6and the back panel 7, allowing the conjoined carrier sections, 35, 9 torotate outwards around the fixed axle-discs 33, 14. Finger accesses 18,25 have been indicated at the open side of the front panel 7, and backpanel 6 to correspond with the location of the leading edge of thecarrier sections 35, 9. As in the previous configurations, in apparatus1, 2, the carrier sections 35, 9 have been equipped with spurs 31, 11located at the top end of each trailing-edge 28,13 and upwards into, thetop-arc gutters 30, 12, along which they travel during opening, to bestopped when the spurs 31, 11 on the carrier sections 35, 9 collide withthe fixed spurs 29, 10 which are formed fixed at the outside edge ofpanels 22, 5, and point downwards into the gutter 30, 12. Anothervariant of this mechanism may be to allow one of the upper arcs definedin this apparatus by the gutters 30, 12 to extend further than theother, upwards, by not clearing out one of the gutters 30, 12 on eitherof the conjoined carrier sections 35, 9 and allowing the remaining stripof material to function as a vane or rail guiding the carrier sections35, 9 as they move in and out. The stopping mechanism would then rely onthe spurs on one of the sections only. In FIG. 24 the back of thecompleted apparatus 3, is seen with trims 20 taken off, and in FIG. 25the front is shown, both surfaces having finger access indents 18, 25cut into either side to access the leading edge of the carrier panels35, 9. FIG. 26 shows the apparatus 3 being operated from the front inthe open position showing a CD 26 in situ in the recess 32. FIG. 28shows the obverse with another CD 27 in situ in the other recess 8. FIG.27 shows the apparatus 3 again from the back with the CD 27 in situ inrecess 8, with the CD 26 from the front recess 32, coming out.

FIGS. 29-37 show the FOURTH embodiment, the apparatus 4, which differsfrom the previous embodiments 1, 2, 3 insofar as the principle of havinga carrier section which rotates outwards, or indeed which comes out ofthe body of the apparatus has been changed. In FIG. 29 three panels 36,37, 38 are separated along fold-lines G-G and H-H. From left, panel 36is the front panel, with a movable cover section 39 cut out from it bytwo parallel cuts moving up vertically to meet the two ends of aninverted semi-circle where they converge in a ‘dome’ shape just short ofthe top of the panel 36. The next is the panel 37 which forms the backof the apparatus 4 and is without features, except for a finger accessindent which may be cut into the middle of the bottom edge. At the otherend is the panel 38 which will form the centre panel of the apparatus 4,sandwiched between the two other panels 36, 37. This panel 38 has cutout from it near the top a circular aperture 40, cut to the same size asa CD, from which the material has been cleared to create a recess. Atthe horizontal mid point of the edges of the recess two horizontal cutsextend a short distance outwards from the either edge, and then beforemeeting the outside edges of the panel 37, turn sharply downwards for ashort distance where they again turn inwards for a very short distancebefore turning downwards again and running to the bottom of the panel.This leaves another section 41, corresponding roughly in shape to theletter ‘T’ being a vertical section with two short outcroppingprojections on either side, with the concave semi-circular indent of thelower half of the CD-recess reaching down into the top of the ‘T’,isolated from the panel 37. The ‘T’ section 41 however, is unable tomove up and down within the main panel 37, and to achieve this a spaceis cleared by continuing the two vertical cuts from the base which turnoutwards as they go towards the top of the panel 37, past the firstturn, running parallel to the two descending cuts and then, when theyreach the level of about the base of the CD recess 40 make aright-angled outward turn to meet the first set of vertical cuts as theydescend from the horizontal mid-point cuts from the CD recess. Thiscreates two small areas 42 which are cleared of material, allowing thecentre section 41 to descend to the point where the crossbar of the ‘T’may be stopped at the ‘shoulders’ at the base of the cleared spaces 42created when the sections were removed. FIG. 30 shows the panel 38 beingfolded inwards on top of the back panel 37, where the outer sections ofthe panel 38 are glued to the back panel 37, leaving the sliding section41 free to move up and down, being stopped on it's downward journey whenthe outward projections above the spaces 42 meet the indents below thespaces 42, and being stopped on its upward journey when the top edges ofthe sliding section 41 meet the edges of the cuts extending outwardsfrom the edges of the CD recess 40.

At the point where the sliding section 41 is as far down as it can go,with the bottom end projecting out over the bottom of the apparatus 4, afold line 43 is created running across the width of the sliding section41 at the point where the bottom of the back panel 37 crosses the widthof the fully extended sliding section 41. When therefore, the top panel36 is folded over the centre panel 37, and glued around the top andsides, the cover panel 39, cut out from the top panel 36, is glued tothe sliding section 41 below the fold line 43. The apparatus is nowfinished and may be trimmed at this stage. FIG. 32 shows the apparatus 4in the closed position with cover panel 39 down, and the interiorsliding section 41 (shown by dotted lines) in the un-extended position.FIG. 33 shows the cover section 39 being pulled down to the point wherethe fold 43 reaches the bottom edge of the apparatus 4, where theoverlapping end of the extended panel 39 may be depressed downward withthe fold 43 as the fulcrum, over the bottom edge of the back panel 37,at which point the top end of the cover section 39 will rise upwards ina cantilever-movement to reveal the CD recess 40, with a CD 26 in situ.Since the edges of the CD recess 40 are moved apart, the CD 26 may beeasily removed, and may be replaced in same way. The apparatus 4 is keptclosed because the cover panel 39, is held flat against the back panel37 by being glued at the bottom edge below the fold 43 and by beingdependent on the fold 43 being freed to descend by its being pulledbeyond it's restriction of being supported by the panel 37 below.FIGS. 35, 36 & 37 are schematic drawings showing the same action.Variants to this format with the apparatus 4 will be apparent. One suchvariant may be to allow the CD-recess 40 to be kept entirely as part ofthe sliding section 41, and not separate it across the CD recess 40.It will be appreciated, as stated in the preamble, that although theembodiments described herein are described in relation to the CompactDisc, there are other products and goods to which such a packagingconfiguration might be suited.FIGS. 38 & 39 show variant methods of achieving rotation from thosedescribed in apparatus 1-3, whereby in apparatus 5, the axle 14 is cutfrom and is an extension of the carrier panel itself, and which rotateswithin the circular slot within the panel 5 from which it is cut out.Material has been removed from the lower end of the leading edge of thecarrier panel 9 to create a gap 17 which is the section of the radius ofthe circular path followed by the carrier panel 9 on it's outward track,and which allows the panel to come out fully before being stopped by thecollision of the spur 11 on the top end of the trailing edge 13 of thecarrier panel 9, with the stationery spur 10 located on the outer edgeof the panel 5. In FIGS. 40 & 41, the axle 14 has been replaced by apivot point 15 extending from the underside of the carrier panel 9 intoa ‘V’ recess 16 from which material has been cleared to make the recess16 larger than the pivot-point 15. The outward movement is facilitatedby the removal of the same section of material as described for FIGS. 38& 39, creating a radial gap 17 which closes when the carrier panel 9 isfully extended.

1. Apparatus for packaging a Compact Disc, formed from a plurality ofpanels of paper, card, plastic or the like, one or more of said panelsbeing cut into a section forming a tray and a remaining section, thetray being rotatable about an axis located near an outer edge of thetray, from a closed position in which a recess for holding a disc isclosed by said one or more panels or by another of the panels, to anopen position allowing access to the disc.
 2. Apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the recess is in the tray.
 3. Apparatus according toclaim 2, comprising a further recess for holding a further disc, formedin a panel adjacent the tray and arranged to be opened by rotating thetray.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tray comprises afirst section cut out from a first panel and having a circular apertureforming a periphery of the recess, and a second section, cut out from asecond panel, attached to the first section and forming a base of therecess.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the tray includesfirst and second recesses, each for holding a disc, on opposed sidesthereof.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the tray comprises afirst section cut out from a first panel and having a circular apertureforming a periphery of the first recess, a second section, cut out froma second panel, attached to the first section and forming a common baseof the first and second recesses, and a third section, cut out from athird panel attached to the second panel and forming a periphery of thesecond recess.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein at least partof respective edges of the first and second sections are parallel andspaced apart.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 1, including a stop forarresting rotation of the tray.
 9. Apparatus according to claim 1,comprising at least three panels, the tray being sandwiched between twoof said panels in the closed position.
 10. Apparatus according to claim1, wherein the or each cut out section is arranged to rotate around anaxle formed from a cut-out portion of the cut out section(s), andattached to at least one other panel.
 11. Apparatus according to claim1, wherein the or each cut out section is arranged to rotate with anaxle formed as an extension of the cut out section(s) and journalledwithin a remainder of the one or more panels from which said section iscut out.
 12. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the or each cut outsection is arranged to pivot with respect to a remainder of the one ormore panels from which said section is cut out.
 13. Apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein at least part of an edge of the cut out section(s)forms an arc of a circle centred on the axis.